By Leo Schlink

Matthew Poon crowned 31st birthday celebrations in perfect style with a Sha Tin double capped by Green N White’s brilliant victory in the HK$2.84 million Class 2 Panasonic Cup Handicap (1400m) on Saturday (9 November).

Maintaining hopes of claiming one of two remaining berths in the LONGINES International Jockeys’ Championship (IJC) at Happy Valley on 4 December, Poon continued an excellent season with victories aboard Ricky Yiu’s Green N White and David Hall’s Ka Ying Attack in the Class 4 Panasonic Smaller Multi-Split Air Conditioner Handicap (1200m).

By Leo Schlink

Chasing a sixth Class 2 Panasonic Cup Handicap (1400m) victory, master trainer John Size hopes a recent stint at Conghua will trigger a return to form for talented galloper Young Champion at Sha Tin on Saturday (9 November).

Previously successful in the Panasonic Cup with Electronic Unicorn (2001), Gem Of India (2005), Real Specialist (2012), Western Express (2017) and Lucky Express (2021), Size hopes Young Champion can strongly contend in the HK$2.84 million feature despite drawing barrier 14 in a field crammed with emerging talent.

Paul Lally:
R1: 1-3-7-9 
R2: 1-3-5-13
R3: 9-12-3-8
R4: 14-9-8-1
R5: 1-11-3-5
R6: 3-1-6-5
R7: 6-11-12-5
R8: 7-5-14-2
R9: 4-7-12-8
R10: 3-9-5-8
Best Bet: R7 N6 Bottomuptogether
Longshot: R5 N1 Mojave Desert
Play: Race 10 QQP 3-5-9

By Leo Schlink

Integral to Pierre Ng’s ambitions of elite level success, Galaxy Patch took another important step towards the HK$5.35 million G2 BOCHK Private Wealth Jockey Club Mile (1600m) on 17 November with a deliberately conservative trial at Sha Tin this morning (Thursday, 7 November).

Restrained to the rear of the seven-horse field, Galaxy Patch was a clear last rounding the home turn in the 1200m trial before surging late under jockey Vincent Ho to finish sixth, five and three quarter lengths, behind stablemate Beauty Waves in 1m 10.34s on the dirt.

Sha Tin Selections
(Saturday, November 09, 2024)

By Leo Schlink

Karis Teetan has become only the sixth jockey to reach the 700-win milestone in Hong Kong, joining one of the city’s most exclusive clubs with victory aboard David Hall-trained Speedstar in the first section of the Class 5 Tai Lam Chung Handicap (1200m) at Happy Valley on Wednesday night (6 November).

Douglas Whyte (1,813), Zac Purton (1,773), Joao Moreira (1,235), Tony Cruz (946) and Brett Prebble (806) are the only other jockeys to partner 700 winners or more in Hong Kong, leaving the hard-working lightweight in select company.

Knight’s Choice returned an astounding $221.70 for a $2 win bet in American pools after winning Tuesday’s Group 1 Melbourne Cup at Flemington Racecourse in Australia.

With the stunning victory, Knight’s Choice ended a 10-race losing streak since a win in a minor handicap at Doomben Racecourse in Brisbane last December.

Paul Lally:

R1: 3-2-10-1
R2: 5-11-9-1
R3: 1-3-12-4
R4: 7-2-1-11
R5: 4-10-1-11
R6: 8-11-1-4
R7: 5-1-11-2
R8: 1-12-3-2
R9: 9-3-6-7

Best Bet: R6 N8 Yee Cheong Spirit
Longshot: R9 N9 Red Hare King
Play R4 QQP 1-2-7

Tom Wood:

R1: 3-1-12-7
R2: 1-2-11-7
R3: 4-1-12-4
R4: 7-2-1-3
R5: 4-10-11-1
R6: 8-11-1-5
R7: 3-1-4-5
R8: 1-10-2-4
R9: 6-3-7-2

Keith Yeung heads to Happy Valley on Wednesday night (6 November) aiming to kick on with the form that saw him post a double on Sunday afternoon (3 November) at Sha Tin.

Invigorated with five wins this season from 74 rides, Yeung has four mounts at the midweek fixture, led by the Michael Chang-trained Woodfire Bro (129lb), who contests a cracking HK$3.12 million Class 2 High Island Handicap (1650m).